The Critical Mass has passed

I’m annoyed. I’m sick of it. I’m pissed. I’m speaking only of San Francisco – and I may be digging my own stick-a-frame-pump-through-my-front-spokes kind of grave, but I do not believe that Critical Mass has any place, relevance, or purpose in the city of San Francisco any longer. (Caution: Strong language to follow)

Yet another unfortunate incident has taken place during a Critical Mass ride, and as per usual these days there is video, and it found its way to You Tube.There was a time when Critical Mass represented a good, relevant, valid message. There was precious little infrastructure in place on the city streets. But the honest truth of the matter is – bike are on the cusp of becoming a mainstream part of transportation in this city. San Francisco is poised to consider legislation to allow bicycles to “semi-legally” roll through stop signs. New bike lanes and new bike infrastructure are being put in place on the streets of the city every day. Improvements are happening.

So why in the hell would you ride the wrong way down a street, intentionally run into a car from the opposite direction, and then pretend to be a victim and assault a driver and their rental car? What good can that possibly accomplish?

These people seem so hell bent on the fight that they can’t realize they’ve won. These actions are going to take all the gains and flush them down the fucking toilet. There is absolutely no room for this type of demonstration in a civilized conversation. People honking at me on the road, telling me I don’t belong there, non of that makes me as ashamed to be a cyclist as this nonsense caught on film here. This is absolutely asinine. Thanks for setting us back jack asses…

I’m pretty adamant about the fact that we are NOT all victims out on the road. Cycling is, statistically speaking, actually an amazingly safe, fun, and healthy activity. The Beastie Boys told us that “you gotta fight, for your right, to party.” You know what – everyone did. And the party is spreading to street after street, ordinance to ordinance. Too many people in Critical Mass now seem to be dedicated to taking us back 10 years. They are trying to cling to the ideal of cyclists as marginalized members of society. They are trying to drag us back there – to justify their anger in a thin cloak of fighting for rights that have already been won.

You know what – mission accomplished. As a cyclist in the city of San Francisco, I am ashamed and appalled that you choose to ride the same form of transportation that I do.

You do not represent me as a cyclist. You do not represent nor stand up for what I want as a cyclist. You only help to foster the worst possible image of those of us on 2 wheels. Fuck you and get out of the way of the progress that has been so hard won.

Yes – there are still improvements to be made in how we plan transportation laws and financing. Breaking car windows is not that path.

Ross Del Duca is the Editor and wanna-be photographer for JustAnotherCyclist.com and related websites. He is an avid cyclist that uses the bike not only for recreation, but also for general fitness and daily commuting and errands. He has an inclination to be "competitive" - but currently isn't. Ross has been running websites professionally in various capacities since about 1995, and started his first cycling blog back in 2007 (it was called sacrafrisco.com, if you want to go digging).

Ross is a father of 3. While not a defining fact of his life, Ross is also a Type 1 diabetic.

Great article. Been riding bikes for 40 years. Street, and off road. These guys are Critical Cowards in critical mass. Group of men breaking traffic laws nassault a single woman. Give these guys their “Critical Ass”, tee nshirts so they can wear them for next months ride.